2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHow would Bernie do?
If the race were between he, Hillary, and Trump? Would he get any Republican votes if he were a Third Party candidate?
kentuck
(111,110 posts)can you imagine how it would shake up the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump if he changed his mind? It would scare the crap out of both of them would be my guess.
emulatorloo
(44,182 posts)This is why Bernie keeps telling us he will not run as an Independent. He has zero interest in having a Republican in the White House.
kentuck
(111,110 posts)I think Bernie would get a lot of Republican votes plus what he already has... which would give him a majority over both Hillary and Trump.
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)And clean up on nearly every demographic.
Rebkeh
(2,450 posts)But the playing field is not level.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)kentuck
(111,110 posts)and Bernie looks like the best in the race.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)kentuck
(111,110 posts)Many like Bernie's position on guns and they agree with him on the trade treaties. While many may not say it, they also agree with him on income inequality. He is a better candidate than Trump, from some comments I have heard on Facebook.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)Not happening.
kentuck
(111,110 posts)To put him in front of both Hillary and Trump.
Rebkeh
(2,450 posts)They hate her more than they disagree with Bernie. One just told us that he's done with his party altogether and suggested that Bernie is the lesser evil. He will change his registration to vote for him. Whether he will continue it remains to be seen but this guy is the last person on earth I'd expect to vote blue.
The irony is not lost on me.
firebrand80
(2,760 posts)They'd call Bernie a communist
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)casperthegm
(643 posts)Independent.
And that's why Bernie would have a real shot if he ran in the GE as an independent. The Democratic and Republican parties are shrinking every year. That is fact, not rhetoric. They won't acknowledge it or try to remedy the problem. But that is why Bernie would have a real shot in the GE if he ran.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)He would draw disenfranchised Republicans in who would never vote for Hillary or Trump and there is going to be a LOT of those this election season.
Then you have the indy & millennial vote. Bernie owns both those demographics and they are the largest groups.
It would be very interesting, that's for sure.
kentuck
(111,110 posts)But Bernie has said he would not run as a Third Party. I think he would stand a good chance if he were to run as an Independent. If he were wise, he would pick a VP candidate who could run as an Independent in 2020. The country may be ready to challenge the two-party system?
pinebox
(5,761 posts)that was long before all the shenanigans. Would he? Would he not? Who knows but one thing is for sure.
This. http://www.salon.com/2016/04/25/jill_stein_pens_open_letter_to_bernie_sanders_green_party_presidential_candidate_invites_sanders_to_cooperate_on_political_revolution/
Bernie did respond. However it apparently has not been made public.
I'm NOT advocating for this just so everyone knows. It is simply news.
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)But he's promised he won't run as an independent or third party candidate...and I'll take him at his word. I'd be disappointed in him if he went back on that promise, even though I consider him to be the overwhelmingly superior choice for the office.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)That much is for certain